The Christmas Light Crisis

Chapter Three: Mistletoe jump scare

Something jingled above my head, I looked up to find a piece of mistletoe. I screamed, Aulora's death replaying in my head.
"Mom, leave Lexum alone," Nivera chastised. If looks could kill her mom would be dead.
"You never bring a boy in the house, I was just having some fun," She laughed.
Her mom was beautiful, her red hair was like blood and slightly longer than her daughter's. If you saw them together you would assume they were twins.
Nivera's mother wore an ugly sweater, its sleeves wrapped with Christmas lights. A grin formed on her face as I stared in disbelief at her red and green pajama pants with mini Christmas trees.
"Are you just going to gawk at me, or would you like some hot cocoa?"
I met her gaze and nodded sheepishly.
"If it isn't too much trouble..." I trailed off, unsure what to call her.
She laughed as if she had read my mind, "I'm Nashica, but Nivera calls me Nashi. Unless she is in a foul mood; then it's Mother."
"Nivera is always in a foul mood," A teenage boy argued as he came into the kitchen from another room.
"Shut up, Jun. Just shut up," She scowled, somehow even though Nivera was annoyed she still looked beautiful.
Nashi came over and sat down beside me, setting three mugs down on the coffee table.
I picked mine up and took a sip, immediately burning my tongue.
I didn't mind it though, I had felt worse. A little burn was nothing compared to losing a sister.
"Who is the present for?" Jun asked, nosily. Eyeing the parcel wrapped in blue wrapping paper in my lap. I had forgotten it was even there.
He took it from me before I could explain. This caused my cheeks to burn hot with anger. "Give it back!" It was a little too protective but I had been through a lot and wasn't exactly myself. I took it back, hugging it close.
Jun seemed to be the black sheep of the family since his hair was blonde instead of red like his sister's. The only thing that gave away any relation to Nivera was his icy blue eyes.
Jun put his hands up in surrender, "Woah, dude. I was just playing no need to go psycho on me."
Nashi sighed, "I apologize, Lexum. The twins can be... frustrating sometimes." She glared at Nivera and Jun.
Nivera looked confused, "What did I do?"
"The present is mine, my sister put it under the tree the night before Christmas Eve. She didn't even get to see me open it," The tears came back and Nivera gave me a hug.
Jun blinked, "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"This is Lexum, our neighbor. I rescued him from a miserable Christmas alone." Nivera smiled, wiping my tears with a tissue she took from the box by her hot cocoa.
He laughed. "If I had known we had such interesting neighbors I would have gone with you instead of playing Fortnite with the boys."
I frowned, scaring the smile off his face.
"Too soon?" Jun asked, staring down at his hands.
"What did the twins do this time, Nashica?" A voice came from the kitchen. I looked up at the blonde-haired man holding a mug of steaming coffee. The mug said something like "Best Dad Award" it was hard to tell.
I was more concerned with the fact that he had just said, twins.
I turned back to Nivera and Jun trying to understand how in hell they were twins. "But you two are so different!" I blurted.
This made Nashi and their dad laugh. "You should try playing Fortnite with them."
This made me gasp, I stared into Nivera's icy eyes. "You play too?!"
"Isn't that game for boys?" I added, hoping I wasn't offending anyone.
She shook her head, "Of course, I play. Someone has to beat Jun."
This made Jun laugh, "You haven't beaten me in a million years, Nivey." He teased, sticking his tongue out.
Their Dad focused on me, ignoring their squabble. "I'm Hander Frances, the man of the house." He joked. Offering his hand.
I shook it, "Lexum Daley. I'm your neighbor."
"I didn't know we had neighbors." He took a sip of his coffee.
Clearly, you don't get out much.
After I had finished my hot cocoa, Nivera and Jun challenged me to a game of Fortnite. Turns out I could only last so long without dying.
"Looks like we have a beginner on our hands!" Jun announced, using his hand as a microphone.
"And he ain't doing so well!" Nivera joined in.
These two are more alike than Aulora and I ever were. It's almost as if they are each other's clones.
"It's not my fault Aulora and I never thought to play video games," I muttered, hiding behind a bush so I could talk without getting wiped out for the hundredth time. I set my Xbox controller down and lay on my back, hands behind my head as I started up at Jun's bedroom ceiling.
"What's he doing?" Jun whispered. He was a bad whisperer cause I could still hear him perfectly.
"I think he is admitting defeat," Nivera whispered back, just as badly. I pretended not to hear them but she had caught me laughing.
"What's so funny, beginner?" She said into her hand microphone.
"I heard every word you guys said," I laughed, this time I held my stomach, their faces!
"Are we that amusing?" They looked to each other, like two scientists trying to make sense of an experiment.